king solomon's mines
Henry Rider Haggard sets out to create an epic tale of courage, a breathtaking drama that attempts to capture, within its limits, the universal spirit of adventure. He appeals in particular to the proverbial young male that seeks an audacious inspiration in life by which to model his own. He entices his readers because his motives lie simply in his desire to entertain, to delight, and to enthrall anyone with a prolific imagination. However, this purely entertaining account of an eclectic and adventuresome trio clearly manifests its motives by the simple elimination ambiguity, leaving little or nothing to the whims of infinite interpretation. As it is, everything within the novel seems to have the intention of being taken "with a grain of salt." Haggard knew his audience, a pretentious and nationalistic society bent on world domination or at the very least determined to reduce the rest of the world to nothing more than a means to meet their desires. And with these precepts in mind, Haggard creates a fantastical tale, taking heed of what is socially acceptable and what is not, all the while maintaining western superiority over the rest of the world. "The fact of the matter is, that I thought that the best plan would be to te
The ensuing story line is simple at best. Even in the event of a scene which seems to present prospective avenues of interpretation, Haggard, with the simplest of intentions in mind, chooses not to leave his account to the whims of interpretation, and thus chance, but rather leaves little doubt of the history just witnessed by providing a lucid and unadorned explanation. Such is the case in regard to the three "Silent Ones," "there upon huge pedestals of dark rock, sculptured in unknown characters, twenty paces between each, and looking down the road which crossed sixty miles of plain to Loo" ( Haggard 258). What seems to strike me most about these characters is Haggard's reference to them as "a most awe-inspiring trinity" (Haggard 258). Rendering an almost immediate allusion to the proverbial holy trinity of Christianity. However because it has not been quite the custom to equate Christianity with the deficiently developed religions of Africa's native population, for such would most certainly be looked upon as a major faux-pas given time period that KSM was written. Haggard rather than leaving the reader to decide for him or herself the essential meaning of the colossal trinity, proceeds to provide a definitive yet particularly forestalling explanation of their origin. It is fitting that these figures have bewildered the Kukuanas for generation, subversively stating that although the Kukuana's are Europe's equals in some respects they lack the understanding and the desire to discover the origins of the unknown, a distinct dichotomy with respect to our inquisitive heroes. So it is no surprise that these figures, whose esoteric origin had perplexed the Kukuanas for generations, are dubbed almost immediately upon sight by the visitors "from the biggest star that shines at night" (Haggard 114), their history revealed and mysterious captivation diminished. Once again reaffirming E
Some common words found in the essay are:
Rider Haggard, Curtis Umbopa, Terrible Haggard, Kukuana's Europe's, Allan Quatermain, Loo Haggard, Henry Curtis/Incubu, Silent Ones, Captain Good/Bougwan, Allan Quatermain/Macumzahn, plot haggard, sir henry, leaving little, quatermain narrator, story line, rest world, light complexion, socially acceptable, haggard 258,
Approximate Word count = 1279
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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